Cloth inspection device

ABSTRACT

The cloth inspection device has a friction roll for delivering cloth from a power operated tension controlled cloth supply via a loop feed in tensionless wrinkle free condition to a viewing area, and thence to a roll forming batcher wherein, provision is made to accurately measure the cloth responsive to the friction roll drive, with means for disassociating the batcher to accumulate cloth at the viewing area for shading, and with means for reversing both the batcher and the friction roll independently of the cloth supply avoiding the disadvantages of reverse winding the supply.

United States Patent Bond et al.

[5 1 CLOTH INSPECTION DEVICE [75] Inventors: Robert W. Bond, Greenville;

William J. Alexander, IH, Mauldin, both of SC.

[73] Assignee: Bond Transmission & Controls, Inc.,

Greenville, SC.

[22] Filed: Feb. 13, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 332,072

[52] US. Cl. 242/55; 26/70; 242/67.3; 242/67.4; 242/75.51 [51] Int. Cl B65h 17/00; B65h 25/22 [58] Field of Search 242/55, 75.51, 75.52, 75.53, 242/67.2, 67.3, 67.4, 62; 26/70 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,011,653 8/1935 Rufsvold 242/75.52 2,936,506 5/1960 Butler et al.. 26/70 3,471,099 10/1969 Albert 242/75.51 3,547,369 12/1970 Potucek 242/75.52 3,589,578 6/1971 Kamphausen 26/70 UX Dec. 23, 1975 3,678,812 7/1972 Wech 242/55 x 3,701,493 10/1972 Welsch et al. 242/75.s1 x

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 526,926 9/1940 United Kingdom 242/7s.s2

Primary Examiner.lohn W. Huckert Assistant Examiner-John M. Jillions Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bailey & Dority [5 7] ABSTRACT The cloth inspection device has a friction roll for delivering cloth from a power operated tension controlled cloth supply via a loop feed in tensionless wrinkle free condition to a viewing area, and thence to a roll forming batcher wherein, provision is made to accurately measure the cloth responsive to the friction roll drive, with means for disassociating the batcher to accumulate cloth at the viewing area for shading, and with means for reversing both the batcher and the fric' tion roll independently of the cloth supply avoiding the disadvantages of reverse winding the supply.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 1 of3 3,927,844

US. Patent Dec.23, 1975 Sheet20f3 3,927,844

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 CLOTH INSPECTION DEVICE This invention relates to means for unwinding and winding a web of cloth and the like, in a substantially tensionless state with provision for accurately measuring and inspecting the cloth in wrinkle free condition, shading the cloth and for reversing the direction of travel of the cloth without the necessity of reverse winding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cloth inspection devices in general use are both complex and expensive. The problem of providing controlled tension produces probably the greatest difficulty. It is desirable not only to supply the cloth to the inspection area in tensionless condition, butalso un- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 5 off, an inspection area having an inspection window wind the supply roll and operate the batcher in such a manner as to place little or no tension on the cloth at any time.

It has been found that the formation of a freely suspended loop of cloth in open width for feeding the cloth to the inspection area provides a tensionless feed. Freely suspended loops of cloth and the like, controlled as to size by photo-electric sensing means, to provide tensionless deliveries have been developed since that disclosed in United States letters Patent No. 2,01 1,653, wherein the web is allowed to sag between rolls. 'As disclosed herein, however, the loop feed motor controlled by photo-electric means delivers cloth fed under little or no tension, other than its own weight, under positive control into the loop by supporting the cloth in frictional engagement therewith. The loop feed roll, which drops cloth from the loop in tensionless condition on the inspection table, is also provided with a friction generating surface sufficient to prevent slippage of the cloth relative thereto.

Suspension of the cloth loop in open width, especially knit goods, has been found to produce vertical gathers or wrinkles in the cloth which tend to remain during passage of the cloth over the loop take-up roll and over the inspection table. This disability has been substantially removed herein by the provision of a roll providing a smooth surface over which the cloth is fed prior to passage over the loop take-up roll.

It is also desirable to be able to gather cloth at the inspection area for the purpose of making a comparison in shading between the cloth at widely spaced points in the delivery. This is accomplished by disassociating the batcher from the common source of power provided for driving the loop take-up roll and the batcher at compatible speeds to avoid placing tension in the cloth.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of means for reversing the direction of the cloth past the inspection area without the necessity of rewinding the cloth on the supply roll. When cloth is so rewound it is ditfrcult to maintain the cloth in tensionless condition and to coordinate the various operations to return to normal running.

Another significant object of the invention is to provide means for accurately measuring the amount of cloth inspected and taken up by the batcher. In order to obtain an accurate measurement it is necessary that the cloth be measured in a tensionless state. This is accomplished in accordance herewith, by driving a yardage counter from the loop take-up roll drive.

with fluorescent back-lighting, and a take-up or batcher arrangement driven from a control common to that of means supplying cloth thereto. It has been found that the cloth may be supplied to the inspection area and then wound on a roll ready for shipping in a substantially tensionless condition through the use 'of means positively forming a freely suspended loop in the cloth and various controls relating thereto.

The cloth supply roll is driven by a motor which has a pivoted counter weighted compensator arm for initiating course control thereon responsive to the diminishing size of the supply roll. This motor is fine controlled responsive to movement of a pivoted counter weighted accumulator arm. The cloth is referred to herein as being in a tensionless or substantially tensionless condition at all times, and this admits the inclusion of that small amount of tension as placed in the cloth by the action of the counterweighted arms or tension resulting from its own weight when suspended in loop form or when it drops over the inspection table or fed therefrom to the batcher.

From the let-off or supply means described above, the cloth is positively formed into a freely suspended loop by the friction producing surfaces of the loop feed roll and the loop take-up roll. The loop fed roll is controlled by the photo modulator which speeds up the individual motor driving the loop feed roll when light of increased intensity is detected thereby due to an excessively decreased length of loop.

After passing over a smooth surface for removing wrinkles, while in the tensionless loop, the cloth is dropped by the loop take-up friction roll over an inspection table. A yardage counter is driven responsive to the loop take up roll drive which accurately measures the cloth while in tensionless condition. The batcher has a drive motor which is controlled by means which also controls the speed of the separate motor driving the loop take-up roll. The batcher may be disconnected from such control means in order to gather cloth at the inspection area for shading purposes. The batcher and the loop feed roll may be reversed independently of various let-off components to avoid rewinding the cloth on the supply roll.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, illustrating major. components of a cloth inspection machine constructed in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevation, with parts broken away and parts omitted, further illustrating a cloth inspection machine constructed in accordance with the present invention, and

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating various electrical components in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 5 The drawings illustratea cloth inspecting device having a motor driven supply roll A. A first pivoted arm B carries a roller biased toward the supply roll over which cloth is fed from the supply roll. A first speed control means C is actuated responsive to pivotal movement of the first arm to course control the operation of the motor driven supply roll. Accumulator means D has a second pivoted armhaving at least one roller thereon receiving said cloth from said supply roll. A second speed control means E is actuated responsive to pivotal movement of the second arm to fine control theoperation of the motor driven supply roll. Means F in the form of a loop feed roll is provided for forming a freely suspended tensionless supply loop from cloth delivered from the accumulator. Means G in the form of a loop take-up roll is provided for delivering cloth from said loop for inspection in tensionless condition.

A substantially straight smooth surface H is positioned parallel with the driven roll G on the other side of the roll F which receives the cloth in tensionless 25 condition prior to passing over the driven roll. Thus, wrinkles as would otherwise pass in the cloth to the viewing area are removed. A yardage counter I is provided with amechanical drive positively connecting the yardage counter to the friction loop take-up roll so that the yardage counter accurately measures the amount of cloth delivered to the viewing area J. A power operated. batcher K, for taking up cloth delivered to the viewing. area under controlled conditions of tension, is provided with a common means provided for supplying electrical energyfor operating the batcher and the loop take-up roll. Means are provided for temporarily disconnecting the batcher from the common means supplying electrical energy, permitting a predetermined amount of cloth to gather at the viewing area forshading purposes.

Means are provided for reversing the direction of the motor driven batcher and the motor driven roll for reversing the direction of movement of the cloth past the viewing area. Means are also provided for collecting the cloth in a relaxed condition, after reversing the direction of movement of the cloth past the viewing area, from the motor driven roll G independently of the power operated cloth supply means. Thus, the disadvantages of reverse winding of the cloth supply means are avoided.

The motor driven supply roll A includes a rotatable roll 10 upon which the cloth or fabric 11 to be examined is wound. The roll 10 is rotatably' carried on the A-frame 12 which is movable on suitable casters 13. The A frame or some other suitable support carries the roll 10 with the cloth ll wound on as from the tenter frame to the inspection area to be examined. It will be observed by reference to FIG. 2 that a suitable let-off drive includes a motor M1 'which drive the speed reducer 14 which, in turn, drives the sprocket 15 as through a chain 16. The sprocket has suitable flexible connection as at 17 (FIG. 1) with the roll 10. The motor M1 and associated drive means are carried within the drive cabinet 18.

The first pivoted armB includes a pair of parallel frame members 19 which carry a roller 20 adjacent the free-end in bearings. The fixed arm B is pivoted as on the pivoted shaft 21 (FIG. 2), and includes a rearwardly ex tending portion 19a carrying a counter weight 22. The position of the weight may be moved to any of the apertures 22a for adjusting the weight to insure contact of the roll 20 with the roll A. The arm B is thus downwardly biased so that the roll 20 rests against the cloth 11, which is wound upon the roll 10.

A first speed control means C is actuated responsive to the pivotal movement of the first arm B to course 7 control the speed of the motor driven supply roll A. As

the cloth wound upon the roll 10 diminishes, the roller 20 moves downwardly, turning a sprocket 23 fixed to the pivoted shaft 21, moving a potentiometer 24 through the chain 25.

The cloth 11 after leaving the supply roll passes over a smooth roller 26 moving downwardly over a smooth mounted roller 27 carried by the accumulator means D. The accumulator means D includes a second pivoted arm 28 which is mounted for pivotal movement on a shaft 29. A portion of the arm 28 projects rearwardly of the pivot point as at 283. The arm 28 carries an additional roller 30 under which the fabric 11 passes after it has passed over an additional upper roller 31. The fabric 11 then passes over an upper roller 32 and thence over the smooth roller 33 and under the smooth roller 34 before being pulled into loop form as set forth below. It will be observed that a second speed control means E includes a second potentiometer 35, which is driven by the chain 36, responsive to movementof the sprocket 37 which has fixed connection on the pivoted shaft 29.

The arm portion 28a carries a counterweight W2 which has longitudinal adjustment, as indicated by the arrow for adjusting the tension in the cloth ll exerted thereon by the accumulator arm D. The first speed control means C, accumulator means D, and second speed control means E and associated parts are carried within the cabinet 38. a

The means F for forming a freely suspended tensionless supply loop of cloth includes loop feed roll 39, which is supplied with a tension producing cover on surface 39a. The roll has a sprocket 40 fixedly mounted thereon to be driven from the motor M2 through the chain 41 from the sprocket carried by the motor M2 It will be observed that the rolls 33 and 34, together with the loop forming means are carried by ahousing 43. This housing 43 also carries means G for delivering cloth from the loop for inspection in tensionless condition, as well as a smooth roll H which provides a smooth surface for removing wrinkles from the cloth ll taken up by the loop take-up roll G.'.A yardage counter I and an inspection area J are also carried by the housing 43, as well as associated parts of the components just referred to.

The motor M3 provides a drive for the take-up roll G through the chain 44 and sprocket 45. The roll'G has a friction producing surface 46 thereon. The size of the loop 11a formed in the moving cloth ll'is governed by the photo-electric cell 47, which is controlled by light emitted from a suitable light source 48 which carries fluorescent tubes 483.

A suitable pan 49 is placed beneath the loop 112 to receive tensionless cloth dropped in a pile thereon, as will be referred to in greater detail below. The pan 49 is secured by attachment ofa vertical leg- 49a thereof to the support 50, which carries the motors M2 and M3. The pan 49 is supported at the bottom as byspaced angle irons 51. The pan 49, including its vertical leg 49a, together with the walls of the housing 43, form a compartment for temporarily storing the cloth 11 received thereon on a reverse run.

The yardage counter I is driven from the loop take-up roll G through a chain 52 which drives a jack shaft 53, which in turn, drives a chain 54 for actuating the yardage counter. If desired, the yardage counter may be otherwise driven in response to the loop take-up roll drive. A suitable light source 55 supplies light to the lighttable 56 forming a part of the inspection area J. Control panels 56a are carried in addition to the light table 56 at the inspection area J.

The cloth 11 after passing in tensionless condition over the inspection area J passes beneath the platform 57, which carries smooth spaced rolls 58, for transporting it to the batcher K where it is wound up on the take-up roll 59. The batcher may be of any suitable type, but preferably one which has a sensing arm 60 for adjusting transversely the position of the builder rolls 61 through suitable hydraulic mechanism indicated at 62.

The batcher K has a motor M4 which drives a suitable speed reducer 63 which, in turn, drives the rolls 61 through a chain 64. The rolls 61 are interconnected through a chain 65 which transmits power from the roll 61 driven by the chain 64 to the other of the rolls 61. The drive mechanism described above and associated parts are carried in the cabinet 66 mounted on the support frame 67.

OPERATION FIG. 3 illustrates various electrical components ener' gized by the lines L1, L2 and L3. The let-off motor M1 drives the sprocket to unwind fabric from the cloth supply roll carried by the A-frame. The motor is actuated by the operator at the inspection table by a suitable switch (not shown) carried by the control panel 56a. The motor can be jogged in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to thread cloth into the machine. The let-off direction can be selected to unwind fabric from the face in or face out condition. Speed is controlled by the compensator arm B which compensates for roll diameter through the first speed control means C and the accumulator arm D which follows line speed through the second speed control means E. Dynamic braking is used to stop the motor Ml. Motor speed is controlled by SCR-l responsive to potentiometers of the speed control means C and E. Motor operation and reversing is accomplished by relay contacts FKl and FKZ. The resistor FRI provides dynamic braking.

The loop feed motor M2 pulls fabric from the let-off means described above, and drops the fabric 11 into the free loop 11a. The motor M2 drives in the forward direction only. Speed is controlled by the photo modulator including the light source and the photo-electric cell 47 operated by the free loop. The motor M2 is controlled by SCR-2 responsive thereto. The relay AKI starts and stops the motor M2. The resistor FRI provides dynamic braking therefor. v

The loop take-up motor M3 pulls the fabric from free loop 11a in the forward direction, pulls fabric from the batcher and drops fabric into the pan in a relaxed tension free pile when operated responsive to suitable switching by the operator at the inspection table in a reverse direction. The motor M3 is provided with contacts BKl for forward running and contacts 8K2 for reverse. The SCR3 component controls the speed of 6 the motor M3 responsive to an operator controlled rheostat (not shown).

The batcher motor M4 drives the batcher to wind fabric into a roll when operated in a forward direction. This motor drives the batcher to undwind fabric in the reverse direction. Relay contacts CKI are provided to open the circuit to release the batcher K therefrom when a shading operation is carried out as described elsewhere therein. The SCR-3 component also provides drive signals for the batcher motor M4. The relays BKl and BK2 also start, stop and reverse the batcher motor M4. The resistor BR2 provides dynamic braking for both motors.

In normal or forward operation the loop take-up roll G and the batcher rolls 61 run at the same surface speed. An operators tension control is provided as shown in the form of a speed trim control to adjust relative speeds of these rolls to control tension on the fabric. A separate control is provided for forward and reverse operation. An additional trim control network with relay contacts DK3 is provided to compensate for differences in the characteristics of the motors M3 and M4 when driven in both forward and reverse directions through switches D81 and D82. The trim controls operate by the addition of resistance to the motor field to increase motor speed.

A batcher release control is provided in the form of relay contacts CKl to disconnect the batcher motor M4 from its control circuitry. This allows the loop feed roll to be driven independently to adjust initial tension while starting a new roll or to accumulated fabric at the inspection board for shading. The edge guide arm 60 provides signals to a conventional hydraulic system indicated schematically at 62 in FIG. 2 to move the batcher rolls transversely in and out on the frame 67 to maintain fabric alignment.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cloth inspecting device, means supplying and delivering cloth to be inspected including:

A a motor driven cloth supply roll for delivering cloth therefrom;

B speed control means actuated responsive to tension in the cloth delivering from said supply roll for controlling the operation of the motor driven supply roll;

C means including a motor forming a freely suspended tensionless supply loop from cloth delivered from said supply;

D means including a motor for delivering cloth from said loop for inspection in tensionless condition;

E a power operated batcher including a motor for taking up cloth under controlled conditions of tension;

F a common means controlling the operation of the motor of said means for delivering cloth from said loop for inspection and the motor of said batcher; and

G means for reversing the direction of the batcher and said means for delivering cloth from said loop independently of said motor driven cloth supply, whereby disadvantages of reverse winding of the cloth supply are avoided. 

1. In a cloth inspecting device, means supplying and delivering cloth to be inspected including: A a motor driven cloth supply roll for delivering cloth therefrom; B speed control means actuated responsive to tension in the cloth delivering from said supply roll for controlling the operation of the motor driven supply roll; C means including a motor forming a freely suspended tensionless supply loop from cloth delivered from said supply; D means including a motor for delivering cloth from said loop for inspection in tensionless condition; E a power operated batcher including a motor for taking up cloth under controlled conditions of tension; F a common means controlling the operation of the motor of said means for delivering cloth from said loop for inspection and the motor of said batcher; and G means for reversing the direction of the batcher and said means for delivering cloth from said loop independently of said motor driven cloth supply, whereby disadvantages of reverse winding of the cloth supply are avoided. 